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Electrical safety poster design competition 2008
27th October 2008
Our electrical safety poster design competition, themed around ‘electrical safety in your home’, was part of our campaign to educate children about using electricity safely. It was very well received in schools and, as a result, attracted over 8,000 entries from primary school children of all ages around the UK.
One of the judges, Baroness Jenny Tonge, whose own daughter was killed in an electrical accident at home, said “The standard of the entries was quite brilliant, but the winner had all the ingredients to get the message across.” She added, “It is so important that people understand the dangers of electricity and I am thrilled that primary school children are taking this work so seriously.”
The Grand Final Winner and Regional Winner for Wales was an 11 year old girl, Beth Eales. Beth scooped first prize, earning her school £500, and a prize for herself.
The judges chose Beth’s poster as the regional winner for Wales and overall UK winner, beating the other regional winners from England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, because they thought the poster was very effective at getting the safety messages across through the use of the standard ‘prohibited’ sign. These red circles make the images bold, powerful and eye catching.
The winning children, together with their families and school representatives, attended a prize-giving ceremony held at the Gardeners’ World Show at the NEC Birmingham in June, where their posters were on display for the thousands of visitors attending the show. The prizes were presented by Kirsten O’Brien, who is a presenter from the children’s TV art show, SMart.
Kirsten said “These pictures are wonderful, and the level of entries is really impressive. I’m encouraged when I look at the way in which the children have demonstrated their understanding of the electrical dangers around the home and incorporated them in their designs so creatively.”
All of the winners and their posters are on display on our children’s educational website, www.switchedonkids.org.uk. Please do go and have a look at them!
